Chapter IV: Part 4

2d, The adjustable wedge-shaped cut off, d, arranged and employed in the manner and for the purpose explained.

3d, Ihe arrangement upon the mold wheel of the two pug mills on opposite portions, substantially as described.

4th, An annular mold wheel, provided with cogs or gear teeth upon its periphery, and mounted upon a central hub or support, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

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DESIGNS.

2,846.--MASONIC BADGE--Virgil Price, New York city.

2,847.--COOK'S STOVE.--Russell Wheeler, Utica, N.Y.

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PENDING APPLICATIONS FOR REISSUES.

_Application has been made to the Commissioner of Patents for the Reissue of the following Patents, with new claims as subjoined. Parties who desire to oppose the grant of any of these reissues should immediately address MUNN & Co., 37 Park Row, N.Y._

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40,571.--ROTARY ENGINE.--Metropolitan Rotary Engine Co. (assignees by mesne assignments of Adolph Mulochan), New York city. Dated Nov. 10, 1863. Application for reissue received and filed Sept. 27, 1867.

1st, The combination with the outer stationary case, d, and its concentric inner cylinder or flanges, x, of the eccentric wheel, ring or rim, c, fast to the rotating shaft and carrying radial slides or pistons for simultaneous action and exposure to the steam or fluid in chambers, y and z, on opposite sides or peripheries of the ring, c, essentially as herein set forth.

2d, The pipes, i l n o, and valves or cocks k k' m' and m', in combination--with the ring c and pistons acting in the steam spaces, y and z, substantially as specified.

2,821 (whole No. 33,825).--LAMP.--Charles W. Cahoon, Portland Me Dated Dec. 3, 1861. Application for reissue received and filed Nov 23 1867.

1st, A lever with chimney fastenings having that part of it on which the chimney rests extended so as to form a deflector substantially as described.

2d, The deflector board or flat shaped or nearly so when made not only as a deflector but partly as a chimney holder substantially as described.

3d, The combination of the said deflector with the conical foraminous piece of metal and the cylindrical tubular air screen for the purpose of forming the air chamber, A, protecting the flame and admitting the air from below the same, substantially as described.

4th, The combination with the lever for raising the chimney of the deflector air screen and foraminous piece of metal, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5th, The ring surrounding the wiek tube a little above the top of the same with the standards, s s, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

6th, A chimney holder having a projection for manipulating the same, chimney fastenings, a deflector and a joint substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7th, The combination of the ring, f, supports, s s, and air screen, c, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8th, The combination of the glass body of a lamp with a metallic handle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

61,956.--COOKING STOVE.--J.J. Savage Troy, N.Y. Dated Feb. 12, 1867 Application for reissue received and filed Dec. 4, 1867.

1st, I claim constructing a heating stove with its fuel door way or aperture, B, below, and forward of its flame or combustion chamber and contiguous to or adjoining its fire box, A, in manner substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2d, I claim the combination of the fuel door way or aperture, B, and the firebox, A, extended contiguously thereunder as applied to heating stoves, in manner substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3d, I claim in combination with a heating stove having its fuel door way in the position as herein described, the employment therewith of a lifting lever, F, substantially in manner as and for the purposes herein set forth.

4th, I claim, in a heating stove, in combination with a fire box, back lining plates and its fuel door way or aperture, B, the arrangement of a front lining plate, E, in position between the flame chamber, C, and the said fuel aperture in manner substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5th, In combination with a lever lifter, F, applied to heating stoves in manner as herein described, I claim the employment of a holding hook, b, and catch ridge, e, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6th, I claim so constructing a heating stove in manner substantially as described herein that fresh fuel may be cast directly into its fire box below and between ignited fuel or coke therein, in manner substantially as herein set forth for the purposes specified.

16,944.--GUN POWDER KEG.--Henry E. Irenee L. and Eugene Du Pont (assignees of James Wilson and William Wilson, J. and Charles Green for themselves) Wilmington, Del. Dated March 31, 1857. Application for reissue received and filed Nov. 30, 1867.

1st, As a new article of manufacture a keg or can with a series of corrugations representing hoops which give combined strength and finish.

2d, Casting the female screw for the stopper on a tap or mandrel, as set forth.

3d, The extra ring or boss, D, and head, C, as set forth.

62,693.--MACHINE FOR CUTTING THREADS ON BOLTS.--Schweitzer Patent Bolt Co. (assignees of Franzis Schweizer), New York city. Dated March 5, 1867. Application for reissue received and filed Nov. 30, 1867.

1st, The sliding or movable heads, N O, in combination with the lever, P, and cutter or dies, a b, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2d, The adjustable lever, P, provided with arms, d e, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3d, The elastic rest, g, constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

53,169.--MARKING WHEEL.--Horace Holt, New York city. Dated Jan. 23, 1866. Application for reissue received and filed Nov. 30, 1867.

1st, The combination of the type wheel, A, inking roller, C, and handle, B, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2d, The ink reservoir, e, in combination with the roller, C, type wheel, A, and handle, B, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3d, The projecting flanges, b, on the type wheel, A, constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose described.

4th, The stop, h, in combination with the type wheel, A, and handle, B, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5th, Ihe spring, g, in combination with the stop, h, type wheel, A, and handle, B, substantially as and for the purpose described.

18,872.--BORING MACHINE.--A. Wyckoff (assignee by mesne assignments of La Fayette Stevens), Elmira, N.Y. Dated Dec. 15, 1857. Application for reissue received and filed Nov. 29, 1867.

1st, Ihe hollow cylindrical stock of an annular auger in combination with a spiral flange with such a pitch as will remove the cuttings horizontally as made and deliver them from the opening of the annular kerf, substantially as set forth.

2d, The combination of a hollow annular bit having their cutting lips projecting in the direction of the rotation of the bit, a hollow cylindrical stock and a spiral flange substantially as described.

3d, An annular bit formed in one piece and used in combination with a hollow cylindrical stock for cutting an annular kerf in a stick of timber, substantially as set forth.

4th, Ihe loose independent collar, f, provided with knife edges, g g, to keep it from turning for the purpose of furnishing a bearing for the head of the auger while in operation.

5th, The sharp annular spur, c, for the purpose of centering and guiding the auger and at the same time leaving a core of the material bored in the center of the auger, in the manner specified.

6th, The oblique traversing rests, O O, in combination with the screws, t t, and dogs, Q, for the purpose of adjusting the timber to the auger as described and holding it firmly while under the operation of the auger.

66,608.--DREDGING MACHINE.--James H. McLean, St Louis, Mo. Dated July 9, 1867. Application for reissue received and filed Nov. 8, 1867.

1st, The adjustable dredging frame, C, when such adjustment is produced by a derrick, i i, and fall, when constructed and operated substantially as shown and specified,

2d, The scoops, d, of a dredging machine having circular vertical cutting edges in advance of the usual lateral cutting edge, W, Fig. 1, when constructed and operating substantially as shown and specified.

3d, In combination with the dredging vessel the pins, L, for the purpose of moving the same, substantially as described.

4th, The dredger, the receiving and discharging apron and the derrick of a dredging machine all in combination, when constructed and operated substantially as shown and specified.

49,992.--SLEEPING CAR.--George M. Pullman, Chicago Ill., assignee of Ben. Field, Albion, N.Y., and George M. Pullman, Chicago, Ill. Dated Sept. 19 1865. Application for reissue received and filed Nov. 26, 1867.

1st, The berth, A, permanently connected with the side of the car by hinges, B, in combination with the recess to receive the same when turned up, substantially as described.

2d, The employment in combination with the berth, A, as described of jointed suspenders to support the inner side of the berth that will fold together to permit the berth to be turned up, substantially as described.

3d, The employment in combination with the berth, A, as described of the sliding partition, I, substantially as described.

4th, The employment in combination with the berth, A, as described, of the movable head board, J, substantially as described.

5th, The employment in combination with the berth, A, as described of a counterpoise to facilitate the handling of the same substantially as described.

6th, Constructing a car seat with the back and seat cushions hinged together and disconnected from the seat frame so that the back cushion may be placed on the seat frame and the seat cushion extended to meet the seat cushion of the opposite chair, substantially as described.

48,555.--DOOR BOLT.--The Stanley Works (assignees of William H. Hart), New Britain, Conn. Dated July 4, 1865. Application for reissue received and filed Oct 29 1867.

1st, Making the barrel of a door or shutter bolt of sheet metal, substantially as shown and described.

2d, The bolt catch or keeper with the base plate formed with a flanch at right angles, substantially as described, that it may be secured by screws parallel with the axis of the bolt, substantially as described.

29,430.--INDEX DOOR PLATE.--E.M. Montague, Boston, Mass., assignee of Nathan Ames, Saugus Center, Mass. Dated July 31, 1860. Application for reissue received and filed Oct. 15, 1866.

1st, In use in a door plate of a tablet or slate and an adjustable plate or disk having figures or readable signs or characters for the purposes specified and set forth.

2d, In combination with the above door plate a rotating disk, C, marked with the hours and parts of an hour, as shown in Fig. 2, said disk being confined in the center to a spindle, D, which passes through the door, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3d, The spring, S, arranged, combined and operating substantially as described.

65,018.--STEAM GENERATOR GAGE LOCK.--Thomas Shaw, Philadelphia, Pa. Dated May 21, 1867. Application for reissue received and filed Oct. ll, 1867.

The construction and arrangement of whistle with gage valve whereby to indicate the sound produced by steam or steam and water commingled or water unmingled with steam, substantially as set foath.

49,847.--STEAM GENERATOR.--John R. Eckman, Green Post office Pa., assignee of John D. Beers, Philadelphia, Pa. Dated Sept. 12, 1865. Application for reissue received and filed Sept. 30, 1867.

1st. Broadly the circular plate or ring, b, as shown and described.

2d, The plate, H, encircling the fire box, substantially as shown and described.

3d, Forming a water space between the inner surface of the boiler shell, A, and the plate or ring, b, as shown and described.

9,286.--MACHIHFRY FOR CUTTING LATHS PROM A REVOLVING LOG.--Jonathan C. Brown, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignee of Henry C. Smith, Cleveland, Ohio. Dated Sept. 28, 1852. Application for reissue received and filed Dec, 5, 1867.

1st, Turning the log to be cut by driving the mandrels at each end thereof by gearing them directly with the driving shaft, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2d, The dog, a, and its appurtenances for connecting the log with the mandrels and disconnecting it therefrom, as specified.

3d, The combination of the cylinder cutter, K, and the stripping knife moved up simultaneously and automatically, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

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NOTE--_The above claims for Reissue are now pending before the Patent Office and will not be officially passed upon until the expiration of 30 days from the date of filing the application. All persons who desire to oppose the grant of any of these claims should make immediate application.

MUNN & CO., Solicitors of Patents, 37 Park Row, N.Y._

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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

MUNN & COMPANY, Editors and Proprietors.

PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT NO. 37 PARK ROW (PARK BUILDING), NEW YORK.

O.D. MUNN. S.H. WALES. A.E. BEACH.

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"The American News Company," Agents, 121 Nassau street, New York

"The New York News Company," 8 Spruce street

Messrs. Sampson Low, Son & Co, Booksellers, 47 Ludgate Hill, London, England, are the Agents to receive European subscriptions or advertisements for the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. Orders sent to them will be promptly attended to.

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VOL. XVII., No. 26....[NEW SERIES.]...._Twenty-first Year_.

NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1867.

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THE LAST NUMBER OF VOLUME XVII.

We give in this number a full index of the volume of which this is the last issue. No doubt this will be more satisfactory to our readers--those at least who preserve their numbers for binding, and probably most do--than publishing the index in a separate sheet. The list of claims in this number will be found to be unusually full, a gratifying evidence that dullness of business does not cripple the resources nor abate the industry of our inventors. With a parting word of good will to our present subscribers and a welcome to those who begin with our new volume, we wish for all a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

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COMMENCEMENT OF A NEW VOLUME.

With the next number the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN enters upon its twenty-third year. Probably no publication extent will furnish a more complete and exhaustive exhibit of the progress of science and the arts in this country for the past twenty-two years than a complete file of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. It is a curious and interesting pastime to compare the condition of the mechanic arts as presented in some of our first volumes with that shown in our more recent ones. During all this time, nearly a quarter of a century, our journal has endeavored to represent the actual condition of our scientific and mechanical progress and to record the discoveries and improvements in these departments wherever made. The result is a compendium of valuable information unattainable through any other means.

But the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has aimed not only to gratify a laudable curiosity by collecting and presenting such information, but to give practical knowledge which could be applied to valuable uses.

We labor for the producers--the mechanics, farmers, laborers--those who build up a country and make the wilderness to blossom like the rose. We believe that the workers are the power, especially in this country; and while we do not wish to detract from the value of the products of merely intellectual speculators, we still think that the world needs specially the laborer. We use the term "laborer" in this connection in its widest sense, comprehending he who uses brain as well as he who employs muscle; scientific investigation and discovery should be followed by and united to practical application.

The improvement exhibited in our past volumes will be no less noticeable hereafter. Keeping pace with the "march of mind" we shall endeavor always to lead rather than to follow. The different departments of our paper are managed by those who are practically acquainted with the subjects they profess to elucidate. "To err is human," but we shall spare no pains nor expense to make the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN as reliable in its statements as it is interesting in the variety and matter of its subjects. There are none of our people, from the student or professional man to the day laborer, but will find something in every number, of present or future value to him in his business.

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A CHANGE AT THE PATENT OFFICE.

T.C. Theaker has resigned as Commissioner of Patents. A number of gentlemen are mentioned as candidates for the succession, prominent among whom are B. T. James and Charles Mason. Mr. James has acted in the capacity of primary Examiner in the Engineering Class for a number of years, and has filled his position acceptably. Judge Mason held the Commissionership from 1853 to 1857, and his whole administration was marked with reform and ability. Judge Mason was educated at West Point, and he is a man of sterling integrity, a sound jurist, experienced in patent law, and a splendid executive officer. One thing may be relied upon, if Judge Mason should receive and accept the appointment of Commissioner, inventors will not have to complain long of delay in the examination of their cases The Judge is as industrious by nature as he is stern and systematic by education and he will have no drones about him. The work of the office under his administration would be brought up and kept up.

A good day for inventors and all persons having business with the Patent Office will dawn when Judge Mason takes the Commissioner's chair again, and we hope the proper influences may be brought to bear to secure his acceptance.

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OBITUARY.

Ebenezer Winship, died at his home in this city Dec. 6, 1867, at the age of 67. A long and eminently useful although unobtrusive life entitles his memory to respect. He commenced his career as a mechanic in the steam engine establishment of James P. Allaire, soon after the application of steam for the propulsion of boats and long before its application to ships for the purposes of commerce or war. For fifty-two years, with the exception of one or two brief intervals, he was connected with the Allaire works in this city, and for more than forty years he was the master mechanic and general superintendent of the works. Probably no man now living has had a more intimate connection with the construction of the marine steam engine in all its remarkable changes and improvements, or been so long employed at one engine establishment.

James P. Allaire, the founder of the Allaire Works, died May 20,1858, at the age of 73. He was an intimate acquaintance of Fulton and from the engine of Fulton's first boat, the _Clermont_, took drawings which he used in the construction of his first marine engines. He built the engines for the _Chancellor Livingston_ which ran between New York and Albany. He built also the first marine engines ever constructed in this country, which were put into the steamship _Savannah_, the first steamer that crossed the Atlantic, and also those for the _Pacific_ and _Baltic_ of the Collins line, which ships surpassed in speed any before constructed.

Under such tutelage and with such advantages Mr. Winship rose successively through the grades of apprentice, journeyman, boss, and foreman, to the position of master mechanic and superintendent. Connected intimately with the progress of marine engineering for over half a century, he was the teacher of a large number of our engineers who now reflect credit upon their instructor. Mr. Winship's professional skill was unsurpassed; his ability in directing and managing others and thorough acquaintance with the minutest details made him invaluable in the position he so long honorably filled. His personal characteristics were faithfulness, industry, earnestness, kindness of heart, and unvarying punctuality and promptness. As master mechanic it was his invariable rule to be at the works an hour before the time for beginning labor to lay out the work for the hands, getting his breakfast in winter by gas light and returning from dinner in time to see the condition of the work before the men arrived. In short, he made his employers' business his own and neglected nothing which might contribute to their success. He was a connecting link between the present generation of mechanics and that which saw the beginnings of that great power, steam, which has revolutionized the world. His funeral on the 8th of December was attended by all the employés of the Allaire Works, by many from other mechanical establishments, and a large number of citizens.

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How to Make Intelligent Workmen--Go and Do Likewise.

Mr. H. O. Osborn, of Castleton, Vt., in a letter covering an order for a club of subscribers, says:--"It may not be uninteresting to you to learn that the last six names are those of young men in my employ. I have myself been your subscriber for the past four years, and knowing as I did the value of your paper, I felt it a duty I owed to my men to recommend the paper to their notice, and the result is as above. I am proud to think that I have so many in my mill who can appreciate its worth. I hope at no remote date to send you another list of names from among my own men, and I am certain that if every manufacturer would consult his own best interest he would do all he could to place your paper in the hands of his workmen, for I feel it to be a valuable acquisition to all in any way connected with machines."

We believe that employers who wish to improve the condition of their employés can render them no better service than to make each of them a Christmas present of a year's subscription to this paper. Send in the names early, so that we may know how large an edition to print to supply the demand. We close this Volume with over 30,000--nearly 35,000--subscribers, and we wish to commence the new with at least 50,000. Send in your names.

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The Iron-Clads at Sea.

In his last annual report to Congress, the Secretary of the Navy thus refers to the cruise of the _Miantonomah_ to Europe and her return and of the _Monadnock_ to San Francisco, voyages the most remarkable ever undertaken by turreted iron-clad vessels. These vessels encountered every variety of weather, and under all circumstances proved themselves to be staunch, reliable sea-going ships. The monitor type of vessel has been constructed primarily for harbor defence, and it was not contemplated that they would do more than move from port to port on our own coast. These voyages demonstrate their ability to go to any part of the world, and it is believed by experienced naval officers that with slight modifications above the water line, in no way interfering with their efficiency in action, they will safely make the longest and most difficult voyages without convoy.

Steam, turreted iron-clads and fifteen-inch guns have revolutionized naval warfare, and foreign governments, becoming sensible of this great change, are slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that turreted vessels and heavy ordnance are essential parts of an efficient fighting navy.

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THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN AS A MEDIUM OF BUSINESS.

We seldom publish the favorable opinions expressed by our correspondents when in their letters they allude to this journal. If we chose we could fill columns with notices similar to those which follow.

R. S. Miller of Logansport, Ind., under date of Dec. 2d, says:--

I have a club of 10 or 12 engaged, and will send names and money about the 20th inst. I have been reading the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN for several years and frequently I find items in it of more value than the year's subscription. In No. 9, present volume, you illustrated a plan for setting steam boilers. I was much pleased with it and showed it to a friend of mine who was about re-setting a 60-horse power boiler in his machine shop. He adopted the plan. Four week's use of the improved furnace proves all you claimed for it. My friend will be one of your new subscribers. I shall, in a few days, re-set my 15-horse power boiler according to the plan. Every live mechanic should take your valuable journal.

The Lamb Knitting Machine Manufacturing Co, Chicopee Falls, Mass., say:--

In payment of your bill please find inclosed draft, etc. Please insert our advertisement every other week hereafter. We are compelled to this being overrun with orders. Unless they hold up we shall be obliged to withdraw it entirely. So much for the advantages of your medium for advertising.

C.W. Le Count, Manufacturer of lathe dogs and steam engine governors, South Norwalk, Conn., writes concerning his advertisement in these columns:

What business I have I can trace three-quarters of it directly to your journal.

An agent of the Hinkley Knitting Machine Co., whose invention was illustrated in these columns some weeks ago, writes:

It is now but ten days since its publication, yet without a single advertisement in any paper I have been obliged to engage extra assistance to simply inclose my circulars to parties, who are writing and even _telegraphing_ for agencies and machines, while many have traveled long distances to personally engage agencies. The Superintendent of the Company makes similar _complaints_.

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HUNT'S IMPROVED STEAM PACKING PISTON.

Engineers are aware that there are more or less objections to the use of the ordinary spring pistons, owing to the changing tension of the springs, the necessity of frequent adjustment, and the impossibility of the packing rings adapting themselves to the varying pressures of the steam on the piston. A number of attempts have been made to produce a self packing or steam expanding piston, which will act always with the pressure of the steam and the velocity of the engine. The advantages of such a piston will be readily appreciated by practical engineers, especially drivers of locomotives, working, as they nearly all do, at a very high pressure of steam. The general complaint against the several packings in use on our railroads is, that they "pack too tight," and rapidly wear out the rings, while the only remedy has been, the extremely uncertain one of contracting the openings by which steam is admitted under the ring, or rings, to expand them. The obvious objection to such an arrangement is, that it allows the steam to act on the rings with its full force during slow motion, as when a train is starting, while if effective under any circumstances, it will be so only at comparatively high piston speed. The efficacy of such a remedy, if it possesses any, is in fact inversely as the piston speed.

Fig. 1 is a perspective of the piston itself, or the "spider," with its follower and its rings removed, which are shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a cross section of another form of the piston, to be presently described, but which will serve to explain that shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Next to the core of the spider are two narrow internal rings, A, in Figs. 1 and 3; surrounding these two outer rings, B, the cross section of which is of L-form, as seen in Fig. 3. The lips of these outer rings extend to the whole thickness of the piston. The flange head of the piston, and also the follower, are turned beveling on their edges to admit the steam around the annular space thus formed under the rings, B. These spaces are plainly exhibited at C, in Figs. 2 and 3. Both inner and outer rings are adjusted to the bore of the cylinder by means of the gibs, D, and set screws seen in Fig. 1.

The section, Fig. 3, represents a modification intended for use in vertical cylinders, if considered necessary. The additional center ring, E, is intended to prevent leakage through the cut in the expanded ring and over the face of the unexpanded one, which might occur when the rings and cylinder should become so worn that the rings, when not expanded, should collapse and leave the surface of the cylinder. The rivets, F, shown by the dotted lines, are placed near the cuts in the L-rings, and are intended to hold the outside and inside rings together at that point, and prevent any tendency on the part of the latter to collapse and let steam under that part of the L-rings. Probably, however, if the packing is properly constructed and adjusted in the first instance, these devices will be unnecessary. In horizontal cylinders the weight of the piston, if properly supported on the set screws and gibs, will accomplish these objects, if the cuts in the L-rings are placed near the bottom side of the cylinder. The steam enters the annular space between the beveled edges of the spider flange and follower and the inner periphery of the overhanging part of the L-rings, and acts only on that part.

Patented by Nathan Hunt, Sept. 17, 1867. For further information address the patentee, or Sharps, Davis & Bonsall, Salem, Ohio, who will furnish piston heads to order on receipt of size of cylinder and piston rod.

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Improvement in Hand Drills.

There are frequent occasions in a machine shop where light drilling is required on work it is inconvenient to bring to the lathe. For this the Scotch or ratchet drill, if the job is heavy, is employed, and if light, the breast drill. The placing and working of the former consumes considerable time, and the labor of drilling with the breast drill is excessive and exhausting. It is difficult also to hold the instrument so steady as not to cramp and break the drill. The combination of the drill with tongs and a pivoted bed piece, as seen in the engraving, obviates these objections.

To the lower jaw, A, of a pair of tongs is pivoted a platen or bed, B, having a hole through its center, which is continued through the jaw for the passage of the drillings. The upper jaw is formed with a circular flange on which is mounted the circular or disk-like base, C, of the drill frame, D. This, with the frame, is secured on the jaw of the tongs by means of two screw bolts--one seen in the engraving--passing through the jaw and screwing into the base of the drill. These bolts pass through semi-circular or segmental slots, by which the drill frame can be swung around at different angles to the tongs, to adapt itself to the convenience of the workman and the requirements of the work. If desired, the crank by which the drill is driven may be used on the upright spindle, E. It will be seen that the pivoted base or bed, B, will allow the work to adapt itself always to the line of the drill.

In operation, the work being placed between the drill and platen, the left hand presses the handles of the tongs together, while the right turns the crank; the feed is thus graduated wholly by the pressure of the hand. No further description is required for understanding the construction or operation of this tool. Patented by F. Nevergold and George Stackhouse, June 19, 1866. Applications for the whole right, or for territorial rights, should be addressed to the latter at Pittsburgh, Pa.

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COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE.--The Senate on Friday, the 29th ult., confirmed the nomination of the Hon. Horace Capron as Commissioner of Agriculture to fill the position made vacant by the death of Isaac Newton, the former head of the Department.

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It is estimated that 10,000,000 feet of sawed lumber is frozen up in the docks at Bangor, Maine, three fourths of which is sold and waiting shipment.

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Correspondence

_The Editors are not responsible for the opinions expressed by their correspondents._

Improved Method of Securing Cutters on Boring Bars.

MESSRS. EDITORS:--Thinking it may be of use to some of the readers of your invaluable paper, I have taken the liberty of sending you a sketch of a new mode of securing the cutter in a boring bar or pin drill. Where the cutters are secured, as usual, by a key, all mechanics know that it is very difficult to set a cutter twice alike; and the notch, which is filed in the cutter, to prevent it from moving endways, is a great source of weakness, often causing the cutters to crack in hardening, as well as after they are put to work. The inclosed sketch will explain itself:

A is a cutter, and B a collar, screwed upon the cutter bar, C. The edge of this collar fits into a notch on either end of the cutter, as shown at D, thus leaving the cutter as strong as possible at the center, and giving it a solid support at the point where support is needed, and at the same time insuring its always coming alike.

Brooklyn, N.Y.

THEODORE L. WEBSTER.

[The device seems to be eminently well calculated for the support of the cutter on a boring bar, and is applicable, with but slight modification, to a pin or "teat" drill. Machinists will readily perceive its operation and excellencies.--EDS.

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Tides and Their Causes.

The phenomenon of the daily tides of our seacoasts and tidal rivers is attributed to the attraction of the moon upon the earth--that the moon draws the earth towards it, and that in drawing the earth towards it, it bulges up the water of the ocean on the side presented towards the moon, and drawing the earth and water thus on that side, also draws the earth _away_ from the water on the opposite side of it, and thus leaves the water bulged up on _that_ side, and in doing all this the effect comes after the cause some three hours, which is termed "the tide lagging behind." Now if we knew, _per se_, what attraction of gravitation was, and that it produced this anomaly of force, there would be nothing to question in the matter. But as we only know by attraction that it means _drawing to_, it is impossible to reconcile the theory of the tides as they run to the attraction of the moon. If the moon is so potent in drawing up, why does it not draw a bulge on the inland seas--our great lakes? I will not discuss the question of the moon's Apogee and Perigee--its different velocities in different parts[1] of its orbit, as laid down by the law of Kepler, or whether it turns once on its axis in a month, or not, as either theory will answer for its phases, as well as for the face of the "Man in the Moon," but I will endeavor to give a more rational theory for the phenomenon of the daily tides.

[Transcribers note 1: typo fixed, changed from 'pasts' to 'parts']

The earth revolves on its axis and makes a revolution every twenty-four hours, and this moves its equatorial surface nearly a thousand miles per hour. Now the water on its surface, covering about three-fourths of it, and being more mobile than the solid earth, is, by centrifugal force, made to roll around the earth, the same as the water is made to move around the grindstone when in motion, a thing familiar to every body that uses that instrument. In the Southern Ocean this motion of the water is so well known to mariners who double Cape Horn in sailing from San Francisco to New York, that they now run considerably lower down in order to ride this tide eastward, than they did in former times. Here then we have one fact of water tide more comprehensive, at least, than the tractive theory of the moon. We have also the fact of two great promontories in Capes Horn and Good Hope, where this great tidal wave must strike against, and they produce constant oscillations of the water to and fro, and produce gurgitation and regurgitation in all the gulfs and rivers that line the coasts of the Northern, or more properly, the Land Hemisphere. These gurgitations swell the water highest in the places where the seas become the narrowest, as the more northern latitudes. In addition to these daily oscillations of the water, there are constant eddy currents, denominated "Gulf Streams," all agreeing in their courses and motion to this theory of the ocean tides.

When our present received tide theory of moon attraction was first laid down, the fact of the water of the great Southern ocean rolling round faster than the solid parts of our planets was not known. Smith in his Physical Geography, says, "The tidal wave flows from east to west, owing to the earth's daily rotation in a contrary direction." Here he is unintentionally correct, because the water striking these promontories of the two great capes, is hurled back, and not, as he assumes, that the great ocean wave is moving from east to west. The United States government sailing charts lay down the fact of this great ocean wave moving from west to east, south of the capes, and the ships coming from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean take advantage of this and ride the sea at the rate of over twenty knots per hour, by following the routes laid down in Maury's charts.

The old philosophy of the crystalline spheres was not more at variance with the correct motion of the stars and planets, than the moon theory of the tides. In their dilemma to account for the retrograde motions of the planets, they denominated them wanderers, stragglers, because they would not march with the "music of the spheres." In the moon theory of the tides the lunar satellite is made to pull and push at one and the same time, which is entirely at variance with the philosophy of force.

There is nothing in the heavens, nor in the earth, that proves to us positively that the sun holds the planets, and the planets their satellites, by attraction, as we are taught that the moon attracts the water of our world. We see that all terrestrial bodies tend toward the center of the earth, and we call this gravitation; but we cannot see how a body moves around the earth without falling on it, by this law. We say in dynamic philosophy, that bodies move in the direction of least resistance, and _that_ we can positively understand; but what force _per se_ is, we do not know. It is always better for us to explain phenomena by positive known laws and motions, than by any that rest merely upon conjecture.

Lancaster, Pa. JNO. WISE.

* * * * *

The Great Hoosac Tunnel.

Messrs. Editors:--In No. 23, Vol. XVII., of your paper, is an article upon the Hoosac Tunnel, but made up from data nearly a year old, and consequently not correctly representing the tunnel as it is at the present time. Your conclusions of course were based upon the same data; but during the past year, and especially during the past five months, much greater progress has been made than ever before upon the work, and a knowledge of what has been done since the last report was issued will, I think, give you a different impression of the time required for its final completion.

Referring to the profile in that number of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, the following are the distances to the various points where the work is being prosecuted:

Distance from east end to central shaft 12,837.294 feet
" " central shaft to west shaft 9,747.072 "
" " west shaft to new shaft 265.000 "
" " new shaft to well No. 4 659.150 "
" " well No. 4 to pier[1] 1,522.825 "
----------
" " east end to pier[1] 25,031.341 "

[Footnote 1: The instrument pier is 4 feet west of the present west end of the tunnel.]

The following are the lengths of the headings at the various points of the work, Dec. 2, 1867:

Length of east end heading 4,608.000 feet
" " west shaft, east heading 1,262.000 "
" " " " west heading 611.000 "
" " west end heading 617.000 "
----------
Total length of headings 7,098.000 "
Leaving 17,933.341 "

or 3,396 miles of heading yet to be made, of which 1,218.975 feet are between the west end and the west shaft, and 16,714.366 feet between the west shaft and east end of the tunnel.

The central shaft is down 583 feet, and well No. 4 is down 150 feet.

The progress for the month of November, 1867, was as follows:

East end heading 126.00 feet
West shaft, east heading 33.00 "
" " west heading 5.00 "
West end 20.00 "
--------
Total for the month of November 184.00 "

Thirty feet of brick arch were completed during the month at the west end, making a total of 516 feet of brick arch completed to date.

The progress for the last six months has been as follows:

East end 711.00 feet
West shaft, east heading 216.00 "
" " west " 288.00 "
West end 180.00 "
---------
Total, from June 1, to Dec. 2 1,395.00 "
" for the previous six months 632.00 "
---------
" " year ending Dec. 2, 1867 2,027.00 "

The new shaft has been sunk, and at its foot are the pumps which, together with those at the west shaft, are now throwing out between 900 and 1,000 gallons of water per minute.

During the last month great quantities of water were struck at both headings of the west shaft (70 gallons per minute at the east heading in one day), and the work was stopped in consequence, which accounts for the small progress at this point. A new pump of 1,000 gallons per minute capacity will be at work, in addition to the above, in a few days, and the work can then go forward with increased rapidity.

Well No. 4 is an artesian well, which is now being carried down as a shaft to afford two more faces to work from. Its depth will be, when finished, 215 feet, its dimensions 8 by 8 feet.

At the rate of progress for the past year it will require but eight years and ten months to pierce through the mountain and at the rate for the past six months it will require but six years and five months. But when the central shaft and well No. 4 are sunk to grade the number of faces to work from will be doubled, and the time of completion thereby greatly diminished. At present drilling machines are employed only at the east end, but in a few weeks they will be used at the west shaft, and also at the central shaft as soon as the buildings and machinery are again in place, and this again will hasten the completion of the work. At the west shaft buildings are already erected for the manufacture of nitro-glycerin, and the use of this powerful explosive will be adopted during the present month. In fine, every means that will hasten the work will be employed, and ere the present generation passes away, and even within from four to seven years, trains loaded with freights and passengers will pass and repass through the great heart of the Hoosac Mountain as an hourly occurrence.

A. BEARDSLEY, C. E., Asst. Engineer.

North Adams, Mass.

* * * * *

Horse-hair Snakes--Wonderful Transformation.

Messrs. Editors:--In No. 21, current volume, you referred H. K., of Wis., who had described the horse-hair snake, to page 280, No. 18 current volume, for a reply, which you considered "sufficient." With your kind permission I would like to speak a few words about the "snakes" in question. When I resided in Pennsylvania, I, in company with many other lads, used to tie a bundle of horse hairs into a hard knot and then immerse them in the brook, when the water began to get warm, and in due time we would have just as many animals, with the power of locomotion and appearance of snakes, as there were hairs in the bundle. I have raised them one-eighth of an inch in diameter, with perceptible eyes and mouth on the butt end or root part of the hair. Take such a snake and dip it in an alkaline solution, and the flesh or mucus that formed about the hair will dissolve, and the veritable horse hair is left. They will not generate in limestone water, only in freestone or salt water.

Covington, Ky.

T.W.B.

* * * * *

Man Proposes, but God Disposes.

It may not be generally known that but for one of those accidents which seem to be almost a direct interposition of Providence, Prof. Morse, the originator of the magnetic telegraph, might have been now an artist instead of the inventor of the telegraph, and that agent of civilization be either unknown or just discovered. We publish from Tuckerman's "Book of the Artists" just from the press of G. P. Putnam & Son, the following reminiscence of Prof. Morse:

"A striking evidence of the waywardness of destiny is afforded by the experience of this artist, if we pass at once from this early and hopeful moment to a more recent incident. He then aimed at renown through devotion to the beautiful; but it would seem as if the genius of his country, in spite of himself, led him to this object, by the less flowery path of utility. He desired to identify his name with art, but it has become far more widely associated with science. A series of bitter disappointments obliged him to "coin his mind for bread", for a long period, of exclusive attention to portrait painting, although, at rare intervals, he accomplished something more satisfactory. More than thirty years since, on a voyage from Europe, in a conversation with his fellow passengers, the theme of discourse happened to be the electromagnet; and one gentleman present related some experiments he had lately witnessed at Paris, which proved the almost incalculable rapidity of movement with which electricity was disseminated. The idea suggested itself to the active mind of the artist, that this wonderful and but partially explored agent might be rendered subservient to that system of intercommunication which had become so important a principle of modern civilization. He brooded over the subject as he walked the deck, or lay wakeful in his berth, and by the time he arrived at New York, had so far matured his invention as to have decided upon a telegraph of signs, which is essentially that now in use. After having sufficiently demonstrated his discovery to the scientific, a long period of toil, anxiety, and suspense intervened before he obtained the requisite facilities for the establishment of the magnetic telegraph. It is now in daily operation in the United States, and its superiority over all similar inventions abroad was confirmed by the testimony of Arago and the appropriation made for its erection by the French Government.

"By one of those coincidences which would be thought appropriate for romance, but which are more common, in fact, than the unobservant are disposed to confess, these two most brilliant events in the painter's life--his first successful work of art and the triumph of his scientific discovery--were brought together, as it were, in a manner singularly fitted to impress the imagination. Six copies of his "Dying Hercules" had been made in London, and the mold was then destroyed. Four of these were distributed by the artist to academies, one he retained, and the last was given to Mr. Bulfinch, the architect of the Capitol--who was engaged at the time upon that building. After the lapse of many years, an accident ruined Morse's own copy, and a similar fate had overtaken the others, at least in America. After vain endeavors to regain one of these trophies of his youthful career, he at length despaired of seeing again what could not fail to be endeared to his memory by the most interesting associations. One day he was superintending the preparations for the first establishment of his telegraph in the room assigned at the Capitol. His perseverence and self-denying labor had at length met its just reward, and he was taking the first active step to obtain a substantial benefit from his invention. It became necessary in locating the wires, to descend into a vault beneath the apartment, which had not been opened for a long period. A man preceded the artist with a lamp. As they passed along the subterranean chamber the latter's attention was excited by something white glimmering through the darkness. In approaching the object, what was his surprise to find himself gazing upon his long-lost Hercules, which he had not seen for twenty years. A little reflection explained the apparent miracle. This was undoubtedly the copy given to his deceased friend, the architect, and temporarily deposited in the vault for safety, and undiscovered after his death."

* * * * *

Extraordinary Effects of an Earthquake--An American Man-of-War Carried Over the Tops of Warehouses and Stranded.

[OFFICIAL REPORT.]

UNITED STATES STEAMSHIP "MONONGAHELA," ST. CROIX, Nov. 21, 1867.

Sir:--I have to state, with deep regret, that the United States steamship _Monongahela_, under my command, is now lying on the beach in front of the town of Frederickstadt, St. Croix, where she was thrown by the most fearful earthquake ever known here. The shock occurred at 3 o'clock, P. M., of the 18th inst. Up to that moment the weather was serene, and no indication of a change showed by the barometer, which stood at 30 degrees 15 minutes. The first indication we had of the earthquake was a violent trembling of the ship, resembling the blowing off of steam. This lasted some 30 seconds, and immediately afterward the water was observed to be receding rapidly from the beach. In a moment the current was changed, and bore the ship toward the beach, carrying out the entire cable and drawing the bolts from the kelson, without the slightest effect in checking her terrific speed toward the beach. Another anchor was ordered to be let go, but in a few seconds she was in too shoal water for this to avail. When within a few yards of the beach, the reflux of the water checked her speed for a moment, and a light breeze from the land gave me a momentary hope that the jib and foretopmost staysail might pay her head off shore, so that in the reflux of the wave she might reach waters sufficiently deep to float her, and then be brought up by the other anchor. These sails were immediately set, and she payed off so as to bring her broadside to the beach. When the sea returned, in the form of a wall of water 25 or 30 feet high, it carried us over the warehouses into the first street of the town. This wave in receding took her back toward the beach, and left her nearly perpendicular on the edge of a coral reef, where she has now keeled over to an angle of 15 degrees.

All this was the work of a few moments only, and soon after the waters of the bay subsided into their naturally tranquil state, leaving us high and dry upon the beach. During her progress toward the beach she struck heavily two or three times; the first lurch carried the rifle gun on the forecastle overboard. Had the ship been carried 10 or 15 feet further out, she must inevitably have been forced over on her beam ends, resulting, I fear, in her total destruction, and in the loss of many lives. Providentially only four men were lost; these were in the boats at the time the shock commenced. The boats that were down were all swamped except my gig, which was crushed under the keel, killing my coxswain, a most valuable man. During this terrific scene the officers and men behaved with coolness and subordination. It affords me great pleasure to state, that, after a careful examination of the position and condition of the ship, I am enabled to report that she has sustained no irreparable damage to her hull. The sternpost is bent, and some 20 feet of her keel partially gone; propeller and shaft uninjured. The lower pintle of the rudder is gone, but no other damage is sustained by it. No damage is done to her hull more serious than the loss of several sheets of copper, torn from her starboard bilge and from her keel.

She now lies on the edge of a coral reef, which forms a solid foundation, on which ways may be laid. She can thus be launched in 10 feet of water at 100 feet from the beach. Gentlemen looking at the ship from shore declare that the bottom of the bay was visible where there was before, and is now, 40 fathoms of water.